


Familiar to Me

by idreamof_music



Category: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: F/M, Friends to Lovers, Protective Spider-Man, Teen Peter Parker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-22
Updated: 2019-06-24
Packaged: 2020-05-16 14:49:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19320355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/idreamof_music/pseuds/idreamof_music
Summary: Lana Rays never expected to have Spider-Man on her rooftop. She never expected to be friends with the neighborhood hero. Lana also never expected to find that there was something familiar about him. She can't shake that feeling that she knows him. Her friends think she's crazy. Is she?





	1. How I Met Spider-Man

Most teenagers would either be at a party at midnight on a weekend, or they’d be asleep. Me, I was sitting on the rooftop of my building, legs dangling in the air. All Night by R5 was pounding through my earbuds, taking over all my senses. This was a typical Friday night for me.

I had stumbled upon our rooftop a few weeks ago when MJ and I were trying to get away from the yelling between my parents. We had found the perfect corner that overlooked the pretty part of our block. This spot became my oasis at night and I found myself here a lot. Homework was done here some nights, and when our foursome would get together it would be here.

I laid back against some pillows I had set up a few weeks ago, looking up into the dark sky. My phone buzzed beside me, text from MJ coming through. _I’m going to bed, don’t fall off the roof. I don’t want to have to find a new best friend._

“Well, how sweet,” I mumbled to myself. Pulling my earbuds out of my ears and placing them to my side, I shot a text back to her. _Maybe Spider-Man can come to save me. A girl can hope, right?_ I laughed to myself and looked down when my phone pinged with her response.

_You’re sick. Love it. Night, dork._

I set my phone down, laughing at my best friend. She had this quirky attitude, sometimes it seemed like she couldn’t care less about people. Other times it’s like she couldn’t get enough of them. That’s just how she is. We had met freshman year, bonding over a novel I had brought to lunch, and kicked it off from there. We had eventually grown closer over our agreement that our other friends were just complete dorks, and obviously, we were less dorky than them so of course, we had to stick together.

“You wouldn’t actually fall off a building just to see if id save you, would you?”

I let out a screech, jumping to my feet and whirling around. I was not expecting to come face to face with the man in front of me. My mouth dropped, eyes wide. In front of me was none other than our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. He was standing there, hands on his hips, watching my dumbfounded ass squirm in his sudden presence.

“Holy shit. I was only joking. What the hell are you doing here?” I was internally, and clearly outwardly, freaking out. This isn’t real. It can’t be. No way in hell was Spider-Man really on my rooftop in front of me.

The suited man put his hands up, walking closer to me ever so slowly as if I was a skittish animal. “I didn’t mean to scare you. Just stopped by to check on you during my patrol.”

“Check on me?” I cocked my head to the side, clearly confused. Why would Spider-Man need to check on me?

He scratched the back of his covered neck and made his way towards me, dropping into my previous spot. I sat beside him after he motioned for me to do so. I watched as he rolled his mask up to his nose, taking a deep, relieving breath. Cocking my head for the second time, I looked at his jawline, something eerily familiar about the angle of it.

“Something on my face?” I looked up to see him staring back at me, hands now on his face. I shook my head, him nodding in approval. “I’ve seen you here every week. You’re usually gone by the time I go home though. Why is that? Ae your friends busy or something?”

“Excuse me, Mr. Creepy. Are you stalking me?” He shook his head quickly and I rolled my eyes, turning my face up to the night sky and watching a plane go by. “This is my favorite place to be at night. It’s peaceful and quiet. During school nights I’m usually up here for homework. Weekends, I stay up here as long as I possibly can since my parents are usually both home, which means arguing.” I stopped rambling long enough to take a breath.

“As for your last question,” I continued. “My friends all have their own things going on. No clue what Ned does, but Peter is usually MIA. I’m seriously convinced he’s up to no good. MJ is a book nerd so she’s either studying, reading, or going to bed early like she did tonight.” I clicked my tongue and shrugged.

I looked over at the masked man beside me and narrowed my eyes, watching him carefully. He was looking up at the sky, hands on his knees. Up until now, I had thought the man behind that mask was older, but looking at him now, he had a very youthful presence to him. Noticing the relaxed posture, I took a slight mental note of it. Again, there was something familiar about it and I couldn’t put my tongue on it.

“It’s not safe to be out so late.” He was looking at me now and although I couldn’t see his eyes, I could feel the intense stare. I snorted in response and looked at the empty streets below us.

“I’m up here, not down there. The worst that could happen is falling off the edge.” I arched a brow looking over at him. He tilted his head and pointed at the fire escape behind us.

“Do you know how many times I’ve seen criminals try to get away by using those? Just because you’re up here, doesn’t mean you’re in the clear.” He shrugged his shoulders at me and continued watching the streets.

“Thank you for caring about my wellbeing, Mr. Spider-Man. But I’ve been here plenty of times. I’m sure I’ll be fine. Besides, now I know I’ve got you keeping an eye on me.” I smiled at him and shot him a wink, earning me a small grin from the man.

Spider-Man suddenly shot up off the ground, whipping his head to the left. I followed suit, slowly standing up on my feet again. Wrapping my arms around myself to stop the sudden cold breeze from hitting my skin, I watched him pull his mask back down over his mouth. He took a few steps closer to the edge of the building before stopping and looking back at me.

“Promise me something?” I nodded quickly. “Be safe up here. If you need help just call for me. Or if you just need someone to talk to. I’ll be here. Go home and get some rest, Lana.” With that he jumped off, only to swing away on a web a moment later. I had no chance to even ask him how he knew my name.


	2. Spidey Signal

That surprise meeting with Spider-Man brought about an unexpected friendship between us. I started spending a little longer up on the rooftop doing homework throughout the week. Occasionally he’d stop by and talk with me for a bit. Other times I’d see him swing by, a small wave is our communication.

Two weeks after we first met, I noticed a little paper bag on the edge of my rooftop corner sanctuary. Remembering what Spider-Man said about being careful, I cautiously picked up the bag and peered in it. The simple contents had me laughing. Tucked away in the bag was a sandwich from my favorite shop, water, and what looked like a flashlight. As I pulled out the sandwich, a note fell off the bottom of it.

_Lana, every time I see you, you have some sort of snack with you. I thought I’d provide one tonight as an apology for my absence, Spider-Man has something very important going on tonight. The “flashlight” is a way for you to call me when you need me. Super cliché, I know. Use it wisely. Try not to miss me._ “Spidey,” I read aloud with a smile gracing my lips.

I pulled the flashlight out of the bag and inspected it closely. It was big and seemed to have more tech to it than I could understand. I pressed the ‘on’ button, pointing it to the building in front of me. A giant spider lit up the brick wall and the surrounding area. I couldn’t contain the joy I was feeling and squealed in excitement, jumping up and down.

 

“So, you’re saying that Spider-Man built you a high-tech Spidey-symbol light just, so you can call him? And that you guys are friends? That’s seriously creepy,” MJ laughs. I smiled at her nodding furiously.

It had been a few days since Spidey left me the little gift. He hadn’t shown up on my rooftop since, but every night there was some little gift waiting for me. Attached would be a small handmade note telling me he missed our talks and the “average guy under the mask” just had a lot going on. It was sweet of him to think of me with how busy he was saving our city.

“Isn’t it cool though? Like, put aside the fact that I have no idea who he really is. But that’s the awesome part about it. There’s no pressure to be someone we're not, you know?” I smiled at the thought of it, MJ looking at me weirdly.

“Don’t you want to know who he is though? And hey, you said he knew your name. Did you ever find out how?”

I nodded my head a little. “He overheard a few of our phone calls. Spidey-sense.” She shrugged and picked at her tray in front of her. “As much as I want to know who he is, I don’t want to push that. But I swear, MJ, he’s someone we know. He just seems so familiar.” I rubbed my temples, the tension causing an ache in my head.

“Who seems familiar?”

I looked up to see a smiling Peter Parker standing above me. He plopped his lunch tray next to mine and took a seat.

“She’s apparently best friends with Spider-Man now,” MJ butted in. Peter looked at me with an arched eyebrow.

I rolled my eyes and sipped the water bottle from my tray. “Thanks for that, MJ,” I mumbled. Looking back at Peter, I shrugged. “I wouldn’t say we’re best friends. Just acquaintances.”

“Acquaintances don’t leave gifts for you to find at night when they’re out saving the city,” MJ snarks back.

My cheeks flushed as I looked at Peter. He was silent, watching our bickering and chewing on some pizza. When his eyes catch on to mine, he coughed, choking on his pizza.

“So, what makes him seem so familiar?” he manages to get out once he’s cleared his throat.

I looked around before leaning closer to our group. “There are a few things, but mostly his jawline,” I whispered. MJ chokes on her drink and Ned lets out a loud gasp from across the table, slapping his hand against it.

“Did he show you his face?” He whispers loudly.

“What? No, no, of course, he didn’t. I only saw up to his nose. Obviously, if I saw his face, I’d know who he is.” Ned laughed nervously and agreed with me, flicking his eyes over to the boy next to me.

“That’s really not much to go off of, Lana,” Peter laughs.

I nod, sighing heavily. “You’re right. It’s probably nothing.” I smiled at him, and got up from the table, grabbing my tray. “I need to grab a book from the library. See you guys later. Peter, I'll see you in chem in twenty.” Peter waves at me, mouth full of pizza. As I walk away from the table, I hear quiet mumbling from my friends. Deciding to ignore it, I toss my tray and keep walking.

 

Sitting in Chemistry next to Petr, I was busy doodling on a lab sheet, tuning out the teacher in the front droning on. Before I knew it, I had drawn the Spider-Man symbol from my light. Looking over at Peter, who was jotting down notes like the good student he is, I realized he’d probably know something about it. I tapped on his shoulder, interrupting his train of thought as he snapped his head around to face me.

I smiled shyly and pulled out the heavy flashlight from my bag, placing it in his lap and away from nonexistent prying eyes. “A friend of mine gave this to me. I was wondering if you knew enough about tech to tell me what the rest of it does.”

Peter’s eyes widened as he held it in his hands. I watched him roll it over, rubbing his thumb over some of the nodules sticking out. He furrowed his brows a little before looking back up at me. “I could possibly figure it out, but I’d have to take it home to do so.” He paused for a moment. “Did he give this to you?” I blushed, nodding my head. “Are you sure you trust me with it?”

I placed my hand on his elbow, giving it a gentle squeeze and smiling at him. “I trust you with my life, Peter. Of course, I trust you with this.” Now Peter was the one left blushing. I bit my lip and looked away, hiding the giggle bready to burst out of my mouth.

Peter coughed into his face, the pink in his cheeks brighter, and patted my hand. “Alright. I’ll take it home tonight and can probably get it back to you in like three days? So, Saturday good? We can meet up for Thai food and I can give it to you.” He offered.

“Parker. Rays. Anything you’d like to share with the class?” We snapped our heads up to look at our teacher, who was visibly annoyed, both of us shaking our heads. When he turned away, I gave Peter a thumbs up, mouthing out an ‘ok’.


	3. The One Time I Needed the Signal, But Didn't Have It

Had I known tonight would go this way, I wouldn’t have given Peter my Spidey-Signal.

My parents let MJ take me to a movie on a weeknight thanks to MJ’s excuse of it being her birthday. My parents were oblivious to the fact that her birthday was last month. We had celebrated on the rooftop with Ned and Peter, they even ordered the cake for me. MJ told me it was to act as an apology for being a “shit friend”, her words not mine, and for teasing me about the whole Spider-Man thing.

The movie we were seeing didn’t end until midnight, so here I was walking home alone in the middle of the night. I had done this so many times before, it was a normal thing for me. The footsteps behind me, however, were not. They were heavy and loud, and much too close for comfort.

Picking up my pace until I was almost running, I turned down what I thought to be a well-lit alley but ended up leading to a dead end. The sound of the feet was right behind me, scaring me even more. I pulled my purse off my shoulder and threw it at the approaching figure.

“I don’t have much, just take the whole thing,” I told him shakily. He laughed and threw it to the ground before lunging forward and yanking me towards him by my arm. I closed my eyes and screamed, attempting to yank myself away from the man.

He pulled me to his chest, breath in my ear. I continued screaming, praying that someone heard me. No, that HE heard me. The struggle between us was making the skin of my arms burn and scream. I tried scratching, biting, you name it, but my attacker was too strong. Each time he would pull me back to him and laugh in my ear, whispering horrible things in my ear. He started dragging me towards the corner of the alley when suddenly, my arm was released, the force of it making me fall to the ground.

A not so manly yell from across the stretch of alley caused me to look up and I couldn’t help but gasp at the sight in front of me. My attacker was stuck to the wall, trapped by one of Spider-Man’s webs. The masked hero was talking into his phone, paying no attention to me. I watched my attacker struggle unsuccessfully as I stood up on shaky legs.

Picking up my bag with shaky hands, I notice the talking had stopped. Looking back up, Spider-Man is facing me, watching me carefully. “Thank you,” I whispered into the alley.

He starts walking up to me, slowly, quietly. When he stops in front of me, I wring my hands together and flinch when he reaches his hands out towards my face. He apologizes and runs his fingers across my skin in gentle sweeps, right under my eyes and down my cheeks. That’s when I realized I had been crying.

“I thought I told you to be safe?” He shook his head at me, wiping the fresh tears that pour from my eyes.

“I’m so sorry. I don’t know why, but I am,” I hiccupped out my apology in between sobs. I apologized maybe five times before he shut me up. The bone-crushing hug he pulled me into is what does it.

I let myself fall into his warmth, wrapping my arms around his waist. Once again, I’m struck with a sense of déjà vu. I pressed the palm of my hand against his back, digging my fingers into the fabric of his suit and breathing in his scent. A feeling of peace and safety rushed over me. The shock caused me to jump lightly when I felt gloved fingers grab the back of my neck and hold me closer for a moment.

“As much as I love hugs, the cops will be here soon. You might want to get out of here unless you want to deal with million questions they’ll have. “I sighed and pulled back from him, wiping my streaky face.

“Won't they need to talk to me? Ya know, to file a report?” I looked at him through swollen eyes, slightly confused, but he shook his head. I could see his cheeks pulled up into a small smile.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ve got it covered.” He grabbed me by the shoulders, turning me around. “Seriously, Lana, go home. Do not come out here so late again. Be safe, please.” He tightened his hand on my shoulders, but before he could push me away from the alley, I turned in his arms.

“Spidey?” I questioned softly. When he looked back at me I froze for a minute. “Can-Can I do something? Real quick?” He nodded hesitantly at my smile.

I reached my hands up to his face, brushing my fingers over the fabric of his mask before pulling it up to his nose. I smiled at the slight pout of his lips when he flinched a bit. Before he could say anything or stop me, I pressed my lips to his. It was short but so sweet. He was still, in shock, for the slightest second before pressing his lips back into mine.

My hand cupped his cheek as I pulled him closer, enjoying the sensation of his soft lips moving with mine. Kissing Spider-Man was exhilarating. I felt electricity all throughout my body as we stood there entwined, fully thrown into the sensations. It was beautiful, it was dreamy, and like all dreams, it had to come to an end.

I giggled as I pulled away, catching my bottom lip between my teeth. “Thank you so much for saving me. I don’t know how I can ever repay you.”

“Spider-man ran his hand through my hair, smiling at me. His lips puffy and pink, white teeth poking out. “I just want you to be safe, Lana. Go home.”

I nodded and followed his instructions, turning to make my way home as he pulled his mask back over his mouth. He turned back to the webbed man, stalking towards him. I turned back halfway down the street, watching him yell at the forgotten man stuck to the wall. A smile graced my lips as I touched them with my fingers. The sound of sirens had me jumping and running back home as quickly as possible.


	4. I larb you?

The next day I ditched school, spending my day up on the roof. I shot a text to our group, explaining briefly what happened and told Peter I’d still meet him the next afternoon. My mind continued to replay the events of the night before. The struggling, the screaming, the kiss with my masked friend. It was a lot to digest.

Saturday came around and I found myself sitting in a booth at our favorite Thai place, Peter sat next to me. The conversation between the two of us was minimal at first. I was mainly picking at my larb, one of Peter’s favorite dishes to order here. Too lost in my own head, I missed the looks of concern Peter was giving me. A soft hand covered my own, stilling my movements. I looked up into Peter’s brown eyes, the gentle worry in them causing tears to form in my own eyes.

“Are you ok?” I shook my head and threw my arms around Peter, his arms settling around my torso and pulling me closer to his chest. Burying my face in his shirt, I let the tears fall.

“If it weren’t for Spider-Man I don’t know where I’d be, Peter. He could have raped me or worse, killed me. And now I don’t know how I could ever repay him for that,” I bawled into his sweater.

Peter pulled away, grabbing my face in his hand, startling me. I looked up at him, sniffling a little and wiping my tears away. He looked into my eyes, a hard edge to his stare. “He wouldn’t want you to worry about that. He’d want you to be safe, Lana.”

I yanked back a little, narrowing my eyes at him in slight disbelief. Peter stared back at me with wide eyes. “What? Is something on my face?”

I shook my head, trying to let go of whatever I was thinking. “No, it’s just I heard the same thing from him as well.” I sighed and decided to change the subject, my sob fest over. “So, what can you tell me about my gift, Pete?” I wiped the rest of my tears away with my hand and laughed at the expression on Peter’s face.

He pulled my light out and placed it on the table between us. Thankfully we were sat in the back, nobody would be able to easily eavesdrop. I picked the object up and shifted the weight of it between my hands. The device felt much heavier after the night in the alley. Even if I hadn’t known how to properly use it, maybe I could have done a better job defending myself if I smacked the guy with it.

“So, I didn’t take it apart. I didn’t want to mess with it and not be able to fix it. I did figure out how to work some of the little buttons though.” Peter pulled the light from my hands and pointed at a small Spidey symbol. “Pushing this up will call him.” He mimicked the motion and I nodded, then looked up at him confused.

“What do you mean, “call him”? Isn’t that what the whole point of the big spider light is for? And how exactly does it call him?” He scratched the back of his neck and hesitated, a look of worry crossing his face briefly.

“It should mess with his senses. Essentially it sends out really intense vibrations that will grab his attention.”

“How do you know-,” I was cut off by Peter jumping in.

“I don’t! Not for sure at least. There’s no sound or anything that I can hear from it, but when I tested it out a spider went completely nuts.”

I looked at Peter in disbelief. He had to be yanking my chain now. “You’re telling me you just happened to have a spider around when you were testing this out?” He nodded. “Right. Ok, then. What about the other switch?” I pointed to the one with the smiley face on it.

“I’m surprised you didn’t figure that one out on your own. It just plays a song.” He smiled at me and slid the device across the table.

“Just a song? Why would Spider-Man put a song in a device for me? What song is it?” I questioned. I couldn’t help it. None of this made sense. My friendship with Spider-Man didn’t make sense and neither did the fact that he so quickly attached to me and me, him.

“I could be wrong, but I think it’s one you’ve played before. I forgot the name.” I shook my head, scratching my eyebrow and resting my head on my hand. “Maybe he did it, so you wouldn’t be lonely up there. Maybe it was to make you feel connected. Or hey, maybe when you play it, it plays for him too? Like those weird night lights on tv. The ones that light up when someone touches it, for long distance.”

I stared at him, unsure of what to make of this. His suggestions seemed too intimate to me. Slowly, I nodded at him. When he gave me a small smile, I smiled back and hugged him before pulling my wallet out.

“Well, thank you so much for checking it out for me. I’ll have to test out that theory of yours when I see him next.” Peter brushed it off, getting to his feet after me.

As we waited at the crosswalk for a signal, Peter and I chatted about classes, specifically a big project we had coming up. To my right, a crowd of college students, maybe ten to fifteen of them, came strolling up, joking amongst each other. One of them bumped into, knocking me off balance. My heel caught the curb at an odd angle and before I knew it, I was falling into a busy street.

Before I could let out a yell, Peter, who wasn’t even turned towards my direction just a moment ago, grabbed me by my arm, pulling me up to his chest. Just like a cheesy rom-com show, I accidentally smacked my lips into his, my eyes wide and staring up at him. Instead of pulling away, I wrapped my arms around Peter’s waist, my eyes closing at the comfort of his soft lips on mine.

It was a brief moment, one that ended too quickly for my liking. It lasted long enough for me to put another puzzle piece together. Those lips felt familiar to me. I swear I kissed them before. As we pulled away, my hands flew up to my mouth, as if I could still feel his lips on me.

“Lana, I’m so sorry,” Peter breathed out. I ignored it, my head reeling.

“Peter,” I mumbled in shock. His brown eyes stared down into mine as I scanned them for something, anything, that could answer my question. “Have we-,” I was cut off by the crowd around us bustling across the street. In the midst of it, we had gotten separated. Once I had safely managed to get to the other side, Peter was nowhere to be found.

 

When Monday morning came around, I was prepared to ask Peter about what happened Saturday. But he wasn’t there. He wasn’t in any of our shared classes. He wasn’t at lunch. He just didn’t come to school. It wasn’t like him. Saturday, he seemed fine, why all of a sudden was he absent?

“So, I heard you two kissed?” The question came from Ned who was seated across from me in the library. He was shushed by the librarian and apologized.

“Who?” I mumbled back, not even looking up from my textbook.

“Peter. You and Peter.”

I sighed and shrugged my shoulders. “It was just an accident, Ned. Where is he anyway?”

Just as Ned opened his mouth, MJ snorted, muttering a ‘right’. I raised my eyebrows, looking up in her direction. When she looked back, I urged to continue.

“There’s no way you two “accidentally” kissed.” She air quoted accidentally, making me roll my eyes. “It’s no secret that he likes you, Lana.”

“MJ!” Ned was shushed by the librarian again. “Oh man, Peter is going to kill us,” he groans. I look at the two of them, mouth ajar.

“Don’t act so surprised. We all know you like him back,” MJ argues.

“I thought she liked Spider-Man.”

“She likes them both.”

I sat there unable to say anything. So, Peter liked me? I knew I liked Spider-Man, but do I like Peter as well? I mean, maybe I did. His dorky style has been kind of cute lately. Wait, that’s weird. We’ve been friends for years, I never really stopped to think about him like that. Maybe they were on to something.

Ned put his hand on mine, a look of encouragement in his eyes. “Why do you think that is? Why the two of them and why so close together?” he asked quietly. I shook my head, not sure of the answer.


	5. The One Where I Got The Boy

I decided to observe Peter for the next couple of days. He had shown up on Tuesday but kept quiet around me. Classes were spent sitting in the back, watching from a distance, Lunch was spent listening to the conversation and rarely putting in my two cents. They knew I was processing everything. Peter only knew that I was aware of him liking me. He must be avoiding me because of that. Eventually, we’d share little smiles, but that was it.

Friday night found me on my rooftop. I decided to put one of Peter’s theories to the test. I was hoping I could see if he was right about the call function of my light. Really, I was also hoping to unmask Spider-Man. After Ned and MJ’s talk, I had decided I needed some answers.

I packed us a snack in hopes that food would open him up a bit. Everyone felt better with food. Pillows were fluffed, food set out, and two bottles of water on the blanket on the ground. My light sat on a makeshift table made from a cardboard box. Now all I had to do was call for him and hope that it would work.

I pressed the smiley face and out came my favorite song. I had played it for Spidey a few days after we met, and he seemed to enjoy it. I smiled at the memory and held the device fondly. Pressing the spider button, I put it back down and walk closer to the edge of the building, my chunky heels hitting the ground loudly. I looked around hoping to hear or see something, but nothing happened. No signs of him.

I waited a few minutes, watching the sky and streets. When it was clear that he wasn’t showing up, I turned to walk away. I apparently had horrible luck with heels. Losing my balance, I stumble over my feet, letting out a string of curse words. My stumbling took me right over the edge of the building, body falling into the air. A scream ripped its way from my throat, my hands flailing as if I could grip onto the air.

Fear set in. What if I was crazy? Check that, we’re well past that point now. What if Spider-Man was right about the whole rooftop thing? What if it wasn’t working? Oh god, maybe Peter was wrong about the power of the device. Now I was terrified, arms continuing to flail, watching the building get taller as my body fell closer to the pavement. Suddenly, the wind was knocked out of my lungs by a hard body hitting mine.

I screamed louder and wrapped myself around the figure. Daring to be brave, I opened my eyes and a relieved smile crossed my face. He looked at me and I swear I could feel his glare burning into my face through that mask of his. I looked away and fell silent as he swung us past the street lights and buildings, back to my spot.

When we reached our destination, he pushed me away from him and started pacing, pulling his mask up a bit. His anger was evident, I had pissed him off. Or did I scare him? Did he think I fell on purpose? He rubbed the back of his neck, stopping momentarily to face me. Suddenly, he was rushing towards me, backing me into a brick wall of another part of my apartment building. Now I was a little scared.

A moment later I was pleasantly surprised when he yanked me to his chest, planting his lips on mine. He wasn’t gentle, he was demanding. His hand pulled me closer by the back of my head. Normally one would pull away from such a kiss. I mean, I didn’t even know who he was, I only had guessed. I shouldn’t be kissing him, but my lips moved on their own.

I gripped his suit and pulled him to me, lips moving along with his. He tasted sweet. Intoxicatingly so.  I couldn’t get enough, I wanted more. Unfortunately, he didn’t agree. He pulled away, panting, face flushed lips swollen and pink. I could only assume I looked the same.

“How stupid can you be? What if I wasn’t here to save you? I can’t believe you threw yourself off a building. Just to, what, prove a point?” He was yelling at me, anger taking over.

“I fell, Spidey!” I yelled back. “I didn’t do anything on purpose. That damn button was pressed long before I tripped!” His jaw relaxed as he sighed. Was that relief on his face? Then it registered, what he had yelled right at the end. “Spidey, why did you think I was proving a point?”

He looked at me, his jaw hardening again. There it was. The spider was caught in a web. I groaned and walked back to my pillows, this time being more careful of my steps. My masked friend followed behind, taking a seat across from me. I stared at him as I pressed the smiley face on my device, the music shut off. I hovered a finger over it and bit my lip.

“Crazy question. Does this also play in your suit?”

“Yes,” he said quietly. “The AI in my suit plays the music when you press it.”

“Why?” He shrugged, rubbing his hands against his legs. I knew somebody who did the same thing when he was nervous.

“That way when I’m not around, we can still experience something together.” I smiled at him, receiving one back. My smile faded as I remembered my other mission.

“Who are you?” It was quick and blunt. I was tired of not knowing.

He gave me a cheeky grin and cocked his head to the side, posing with his finger under his chin. “I’m Spider-Man, the guy who saved your ass tonight and a week ago.”

 “Not funny. You know what I mean.” I was being pushy, I knew that. Judging by the tension in his jaw, he didn’t like that.

“Why do you have to know so badly?”

I sighed. “Why are you so afraid of telling me? Is it that you’re afraid I’ll tell someone? Or is it that you’re afraid the connection will be gone once I see the face under the mask?”

“Both.” I snorted and shook my head. Spidey put his hands up in front of him, palms facing me. “Look, Lana, I won’t tell you. But I will let you guess.”

Did he just say that? I pinched myself, yelping in pain. It caused his lips to twitch up in a half smile. “Are you sure?” He nodded. I reclined against the pillows and patted the space next to me, inviting him closer. When he was sat side flushed against mine, I turned to face him, smiling. I had been waiting so long for this moment, I couldn’t contain my excitement. Spidey sighed and leaned back, ignoring my grin.

“Go on,” he urged.

I dove right in. “You know my friend Peter Parker. I know this for sure. Although he is insanely smart, he was way too accurate with the light you gave me.” He sat silent for a moment then nodded. “You know MJ and Ned too, right? They seem to be in on a secret with Peter.” Again, he nodded.

I bit my lip wondering if I should continue. I didn’t want to push him. I didn’t want to look like a fool if I was wrong. But I also had to know the truth. The guy under the mask was more than just a hero. I had fallen for him, and I had fallen for Peter as well. As much as I hated to admit it, I had and now I had to figure it out.

“Before I throw it out there, I need you to know that I think I’m in love with my best friend. I won’t be disappointed with who is under that mask.” I pause to gauge his reaction.

“Is it MJ?” I laughed so hard at that and shook my head. I let it grow silent between us, then I let it loose.

“You’re Peter Parker.” I held my breath as if that would help anything. Spidey’s lips slightly parted, but he said nothing. “Your voice is the same. A little higher, but close enough. You have the same jawline and nose. Those lips kissed me last Saturday, and I can’t stop thinking about them. Your hugs are the same, your scent is the same, everything is the same. You are Peter.”

He stayed silent, watching me. My heart rate picked up as I got on my knees in front of him. My hands reached up to his mask, one of his hands darting out to grab ahold of it, halting my movements. A soft, pleading look from me and he sighs but let go of my hand. I closed my eyes, fearing I would be wrong, and lifted it up of his head. I sat there like that for a moment, eyes closed, mask held tightly in my hands.

“Lana, look at me.”

And I did. He was watching my face, waiting for disappointment. There was none. I smiled at the boy in front of me, tossing the mask to my side and inching closer to him. “I’m not disappointed. I think I always knew it was you. At least, I hoped it was you, Peter.”

“Peter smiled back at me and rubbed my hand. “I can’t believe you didn’t push me sooner. If you knew, why didn’t you?” He shook his head, confused.

I pulled my sweater over my knees, blushing at his words. “At first I didn’t care. Then when we kissed on Saturday, I was pretty sure it was you. But you ran before we could talk.” Peter nodded, looking out at the sky. “Why didn’t you ever tell me about this, Peter? Ned and MJ knew, why not me?” I asked, slightly offended.

“Ned and MJ found out by accident. I wouldn’t have told them if they didn’t find out like that. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to think of me any different.” He pulled at his suit a little, looking down and away from me.

“What do you mean?”

Peter sighed, scratching the back of his neck. He looked so vulnerable, much like the Peter I was used to. The faint blush on his cheeks made him look adorable and so innocent.

“I like you, like, a lot. I know Ned and MJ already let that out. I was afraid that if you knew about Spider-Man, you’d be interested in me for the wrong reason.

“You’re stupid Peter. After talking with them, I realized that I might have liked you for a while. Spider-Man wouldn’t change that,” I promised. “I mean, how funny is that I fell for both of you before I really knew?”

Peter took my face in his hands, rubbing his thumbs across my cheeks. I leaned into it, closing my eyes. His lips gently pressed against mine and I smiled. “We’ll talk about Spider-Man later.” I groaned opening my eyes and glaring at him. I was fully prepared to ask why not now, but Peter pressed a finger to my lips. “For now, I need to get you home.”

And he did, like the good boy that he is, he took me home. Peter didn’t have too far to go since my window was a few floors down the fire escape. He kissed me at the window and swung off into the night to be Spider-Man. I watched his form fade into the night, smiling to myself. I finally found out Spider-Man’s secret and got the boy at the same time.


End file.
